Being the "A" player in a scramble

Alefty · May 28, 2009

Basically what this guy said. If you are the best player the rest will be looking for you to be a leader. If you want to win the tournament you need to make sure everyone is on strategy. Make sure everyone is watching each other's shots and watching the putting. Depending on skill level you may need to tell people to hit FW or irons off the tee for more consistency. stuff like that.

I'm playing in a scramble with my buddies this weekend, and I'm the best golfer among them, we're all playin just for fun, but anything I can do to help bring out the best in these guys?? Hit first maybe to take the pressure off them??

Be first with strategy (whose ball to play, and how to play the shot/putt).

Be last when hitting/putting.

Accept the blame; distribute the glory.

They will appreciate it and you.

MrJones · May 28, 2009

If you're the best on the team and are trying to make it fun for the other guys, go first on everything but putts. Play your game. by going ahead and hitting the fairway/green, you take all the pressure off the other guys. You've already got a good ball in play so if they hit a good one, great, if not, no big deal. It'll make it a lot more fun for them if they have free reign to just swing without having to feel like they need to perform. Let them putt first also- you get a few reads and even better, if they drop one, they really feel like they're contributing.

Got to disagree with you there. If you go first and pound one 280 in the middle and they can't hit it past 200, there's no point in them playing and they'll know it. Far better to let them go first. If they hit a good one, then you can tell them that their shot leaves you free to open your shoulders. That way, even if you end up using your ball, they at least feel like they helped. If you go first and hit it badly (which happens to everyone), suddenly all the pressure is on them. If they go first, there is next to no pressure because they know they have you in reserve if they need it.

Agree entirely. Good post.

I understand what you guys are saying but out of the 8 scrambles I've played in, we've won 3 times, came in 2nd 4 times and had one 3rd place finish. And the only time I've been on a "stacked" team was the time we came in third. We always get contributions from every player through the round and I've had guys on my team who couldn't break a 100 on their own.

Lefty-22 · May 28, 2009

Be supportive,

don't let their head drop,

Great advice there - encouragement after mistakes from a better player on your team is one of the best things to shorten someone's memory of a bad performance and get them on to something else.

DaveLeeNC · May 28, 2009

I'm playing in a scramble with my buddies this weekend, and I'm the best golfer among them, we're all playin just for fun, but anything I can do to help bring out the best in these guys?? Hit first maybe to take the pressure off them??

I don't like 'golf' that is different enough from the ROG so that you can't post a score. But I certainly understand the appeal of a Scramble.

But I encountered a different problem in a Scramble once. I was the A player. One of the rules of this competition was that we had to use 3 drives from each player (and par 3's didn't count). So there were really only 3 drives to play with (this course had only 3 par 3's).

We were on our 11th hole which was a marginally reachable par 5 ('only' 480 yards but very uphill). I'm not a monster driver but I had hit a really good drive. However, our D player (who was really struggling off the tee) had hit probably the best drive of his recent life (maybe 175 yards). The default assumption after that was that we would be using his drive. We had only used 1 of his drives on the first 10 holes.

As we were driving up the fairway (I was riding with the team captain) I said "we might want to think about this one - I might be able to get home in 2 off my drive".

We didn't exactly "think about this one". Instead the captain leaned out of his cart and yelled "pick'em up - Dave save he can get home in 2 off his drive".

You normally think of a scramble as a low pressure game - that 3w that I hit might as well have been a 215 yard water carry out of a divot. Fortunately I hit a pretty good shot to the front fringe which the team found very acceptable.

dave

DaveLeeNC · May 28, 2009

I'm playing in a scramble with my buddies this weekend, and I'm the best golfer among them, we're all playin just for fun, but anything I can do to help bring out the best in these guys?? Hit first maybe to take the pressure off them??

I don't like 'golf' that is different enough from the ROG so that you can't post a score. But I certainly understand the appeal of a Scramble.

But I encountered a different problem in a Scramble once. I was the A player. One of the rules of this competition was that we had to use 3 drives from each player (and par 3's didn't count). So there were really only 3 drives to play with (this course had only 3 par 3's).

We were on our 11th hole which was a marginally reachable par 5 ('only' 480 yards but very uphill). I'm not a monster driver but I had hit a really good drive. However, our D player (who was really struggling off the tee) had hit probably the best drive of his recent life (maybe 175 yards). The default assumption after that was that we would be using his drive. We had only used 1 of his drives on the first 10 holes.

As we were driving up the fairway (I was riding with the team captain) I said "we might want to think about this one - I might be able to get home in 2 off my drive".

We didn't exactly "think about this one". Instead the captain leaned out of his cart and yelled "pick'em up - Dave save he can get home in 2 off his drive".

You normally think of a scramble as a low pressure game - that 3w that I hit might as well have been a 215 yard water carry out of a divot. Fortunately I hit a pretty good shot to the front fringe which the team found very acceptable.

dave

thenation48 · May 28, 2009

SWING HARDER! :diespam:

SNIPERBBB · May 28, 2009

I love scrambles...just hate being the A which does not happen often, at best I am a B right now, well I can be a weak A now with the way I've been playing lately(knock on wood)

Basically as the A player, your job is to save your team's butt. If you know the course your playing, be the one in charge of giving the yardage and wind/elevation effects. After that, let your team play ahead of you. Remind them that you as the A player are the only one that has any kind of pressure. You could care less if their tee shots barely make it past the ladies tees. Though having one out in the middle of the fairway is nice so you can bomb one if your a power player.

For approach shots, pick the one that is closest as long as it is a clear shot to the green. If you got one in the fairway that would not require an extra club over the closest shot, take it.

For putts, weakest to strongest putters should be the order.

And the only rule for your team is: "Have Fun".

gib15 · June 4, 2009

i agree with the fact that the A guy goes last, that is always me in my groups, but in a scramble last year on some really difficult greens, in the second round i went first on par 3's and putting. the guys i were with ranged from 8-12 hndcps. this worked out well, since i hit the greens i could tell them what the yardage really was and they saw what the line on the putts really were. our scores improved and i found i holed more putts overall.

to me, the other guys in the group do not hit the ball nearly as consistent or well as the A player, so if they can be more confident that they have the right club, then they seem to hit it better, especially when my ball was already on the green.

anyway, i would only consider doing this with the right group, but, in most cases i putt last, basically because i love the pressure and lets face it, there is nothing like hitting a shot or holing that putt when you are the last chance and then doing the Tiger fist pump in celebration!

hoganfan924 · June 4, 2009

"A" player always goes last! The "A" putter might be a different guy though. I've played on the winning team in the last 4 scrambles I've played in. The last to hit should be the best shotmaker/ballstriker because he should have the ability to save the team when the first 3 hit poor shots. Sometimes that means having to change strategy to hit a hybrid off the tee or even an iron. The best putter can learn alot from watching the other 3 putt. It is critical for each person to observe the exact initial direction (first foot) of everyone's putt before them. Most people underread putts and subconsciously compensate by starting the ball well above their intended line.

Here's one key to winning scrambles:

Get everyone together on the practice green and make sure you all understand how you read putts and communicate break. Some people are "apex" putters, some "aimpoint" putters and therefore one guys "1 foot break" is another's "3 feet of break." Then pick some putts, agree on an aimline and each of you stroke putts so that you understand each others tendencies. The last scramble I played in, we weren't in synch with each other on the first 9. We went 5 under on the first and 10 under on the 2nd 9 once we learned each others tendencies on the green. The problem was that I was reading about twice as much break as the first 2 guys putting on our team and they kept missing on the high side because they we compensating by starting the ball well above the aimpoint. Once I realized this, I started shading my read to less break for them so that they'd start the putts on a better line. I didn't even have to putt on the 2nd 9!

Bones01gt · June 5, 2009

Is it acceptable for the "A" player to get intoxicated or is he obligated to stay sober and bail the team out of any trouble they might enounter?

honketyhank · June 5, 2009

I played in my first scramble two weeks ago. I was probably regarded as the C or D. The A and B guys hit drives 50 to 80 yds farther than me but I was usually in the fairway and they were often both in the rough. There were several times that I would have preferred to play my ball as opposed to one of theirs in deep rough. Preferred is not strong enough - I just simply couldn't escape with anything but a chip out to the fairway. They liked their shots and they were able to convert them and we did pretty well overall as a team. So what's the problem? The problem is that I felt pretty useless at those points. I am pretty sure they could have used my or my fellow oldfart teammate's drive just as effectively.

The whole point of a scramble is that you mix things up enough that "winning" becomes more like a lottery than some kind of combat. So who cares? Why not let the oldfarts be proud of a drive for some reason other than "well we have to use three drives from that guy, let's take them on a par 3 if he is on the green, or if we are OB or wet."

End of whine. I had fun anyway. I don't get to play a wedge for a second shot on anything other than a par 3 very often. Had several opportunities in that match.